494 



AGRICULTURAL. APPROPRIATION BILL, 1924. 



HUNTLEY FIELD STATIC K. 



The Huntley field station, established in 1909, is located on the Huntley reclamation 

 project, near the town site of Osborn, Mont. It comprises 300 acres of public land, 

 of which 140 acres lie above the irrigation canal. The work of the farm is under the 

 supervision of the office of western irrigation agriculture, the office of dry-land agri- 

 culture, the biophysical laboratory, and other offices of the Bureau of Plant Industry, 

 the dairy • divi.sioii and the animal husbandry division of the Bureau of Animal 

 Industry; and the Montana Agricultural Experiment Station is also cooperating in 

 the investigational work with field crops and hogs. 



The dairy work at Huntley began in 1916, and consists of investigations of problems 

 encountered in establishing dairving in the irrigated sections, particularly with 

 reference to the effective utilization of the forage and grain crops produced in those 

 regions. A herd of purebred Holsteins established in 1917 now numbers 50 head, 

 and the animals are being used in the dairy cattle breeding experiments. In this 

 connection bulls are loaned from this herd to farmers on the project with the object 

 to determine the transmitting ability for production of these bulls. At the present 

 time 34 farmers on the Huntley project, owning over 200 cows, are using bulls from 

 this herd. 



The following are some of the experiments conducted at this station: 



(1) The maximum carrying capacitv of an irrigated pasture for dairy cows. To 

 determine the number of dairy cows that can be maintained on an acre of irrigated 

 pasture. Four plats of one-quarter each were seeded with a mixture of smooth brome 

 grass, orchard grass, tall fescue, perennial rye grass, Kentucky blue grass, white clover, 

 and alsike clover. The four plats are fenced into two half-acre lota which are pastured 

 alternately. 



(2) A comparison of the carrxing capacity of three mixtures of pasture grasses under 

 irrigation for dairy cows, the following mixtures being used: 



Awnless brome grass 



Orchard grass 



Tallfesc-ue 



Perennial rye grass. . 

 Kentucky blue grass. 



White clover 



Alsike clover 



Seed per acre . . 



Rate per acre of seeding, 

 pounds. 



Mixture 

 No. 1. 



21 



Mixture 

 No. 2. 



17 



MLxturo 

 No. 3. 



16 



i 



One-half of these plats are being top dressed with manure each year and compared 

 with those \vithout top dressing. 



(3) '^ he feeding of dairy covs on roughage alone as compared \rith roughage with 

 liberal grain feeding, and with limited grain feeding to cletermine the economy of 

 production of these tvro methods of feeding. 



ARDMORE FIELD STATION. 



The Ardmore field station was established by the Bureau of Plant Industry in 1911 

 and dairy operations began in 191(5. '1 he work on the farm is under the supervision of 

 the oflice of dry-land agriculture, the dairy division, and the animal husbandry divi- 

 sion of the Brucau of Animal Industry. 'J here are 1,200 acres in the farm, of which 

 353 are used bv the dairy division for corrals, permanent pastures, and crop land. 

 The dairy work consists of investigations of problems encountoretl in establishing 

 dairying in dry-land sections, particularly with reference to the effective utilization 

 of forage and grain crops produced. 



The herd of pure-bred Holsteins established in 1917 now numbers 41 head, and 

 they are being used in the dairy cattle breeding experiments. 



'I'he following are some of the experiments in progress: 



(1) l'a.4turo expcTimeiits: (a) Native pasture composed of buffalo grass; grama, and 

 wheat grasses; (6) sweet clover; (c) brome grass; (J) slender wheat grass. 



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